EAGAN, Minn., Feb. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- After five years as president and chief executive officer
for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross), Michael Guyette has informed the company's Board
of Trustees that he will leave in March to pursue another CEO
leadership opportunity. The Board has named Kathleen Blatz, a current Blue Cross board
member, to serve as interim CEO. A search for a new CEO has been
initiated by the Board.
"On behalf of the entire Board of Trustees, I want to thank Mike
for his successful leadership over the past five years," said
current Board Chair Rita Heise.
"During a time of unprecedented change, Mike was able to grow our
overall membership and successfully navigate Blue Cross through
many complexities and transformations. He launched multiple
innovation efforts and new diversified businesses while
simultaneously strengthening our core health insurance operations.
The Board is very grateful for all of Mike's accomplishments and we
wish him the very best in his new role."
Guyette will join VSP Global as CEO, where he will lead a global
vision business that includes retail, manufacturing, innovation and
insurance.
Guyette joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota in January
2012. In addition to his role as president and chief
executive officer, he served as a member of the Blue Cross and Blue
Shield of Minnesota Board of
Trustees and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Board.
Guyette will closely collaborate with Blatz over the next
several weeks to ensure a smooth transition.
"Kathleen Blatz is uniquely
qualified to lead this organization during the search for a new
CEO," added Heise. "Her vast legislative and legal expertise have
brought tremendous value to the Board, and she has the full trust
and confidence of the Blue Cross executive leadership team. I am
confident that Kathleen will build on Mike's accomplishments as
Blue Cross continues to move forward on implementing key strategies
and serving our non-profit mission of making a healthy difference
in people's lives. The company could not be in better hands."
About Interim CEO Kathleen
Blatz
Before her 1996 gubernatorial appointment to the Minnesota
Supreme Court as an associate justice, Blatz practiced law at a
Minneapolis law firm and later
served the citizens of Hennepin
County, first as an assistant county attorney and then as a
district court judge. She was also elected for eight terms in the
Minnesota House of
Representatives, serving on various committees including the Health
and Human Services Committee. Blatz served as chief justice of the
Minnesota Supreme Court from 1998 to 2006. She joined the Blue
Cross board of Trustees in 2009. In 2017, Blatz spent five months
as interim chair of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Authority,
which oversees the operations of U.S. Bank stadium in
Minneapolis.
Blatz holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame, a master's degree from
the University of Minnesota School of
Social Work and a law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota
Blue Cross and Blue
Shield of Minnesota, with
headquarters in the St. Paul
suburb of Eagan, was chartered in
1933 as Minnesota's first health
plan and continues to carry out its charter mission today: to
promote a wider, more economical and timely availability of health
services for the people of Minnesota. A nonprofit, taxable organization,
Blue Cross is the largest health plan based in Minnesota, covering 2.9 million members in
Minnesota and nationally through
its health plans or plans administered by its affiliated companies.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, headquartered in
Chicago. Go to
bluecrossmn.com to learn more.
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SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota